Siebels slams in win

Siebels’ slam highlights Gauchos’ final home game|

Garrett Siebels put an exclamation point on Casa Grande’s 60-42 boys basketball win over Justin-Siena with an emphatic dunk in Casa’s Coach Ed Iacopi gym Friday night.

Casa Grande was leading by a modest six points when Siebels batted the ball away from a Brave ball handler, and had nothing but hardwood between him and the basket. The expectant crowd could sense what was coming as the senior used the court as runway to launch himself above the rim and jam home a highlight-reel slam.

Siebels finished with 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks as he helped keep the Gauchos hopeful of continued play in either/or the Vine Valley Athletic League playoffs or the North Coast Section tournament.

Going into a final regular-season game at Napa on Monday night, Casa Grande was 14-11 on the season and 6-5 in league play.

Playing what might be their final home game of the season, the Gauchos were not at their best, but they were more than good enough to beat a Justin-Siena team that refused to go quietly into the rainy night.

The Braves remained within hopeful distance until the game’s final 2:30 when the Gauchos went on a 11-1 streak to close out the game.

Sonny Gigliotti closed out that run and the game with a 3-point connection.

While Casa Grande pretty much controlled the game, the Gauchos had some troubles along the way with the feisty Braves, who left the Casa gym with 11-14 overall and 1-10 league records.

Biggest problem for Casa Grande was ball control. The Gauchos had 23 turnovers in the game, and all but three home players contributed to the totals.

Still, the Gauchos did what they do in good times or troublesome times - they played hard.

Justin-Siena led, 13-11, two minutes into the second quarter when Kevin Cadle drove for a game-tying hoop.

The basket led to a 10-point Gaucho run that put them ahead to stay.

Noah Bailey backed Siebels with 10 points. Twelve Gauchos got in on the scoring party.

Loss at Napa

The home-court win over Justin-Siena was the fourth straight for the Gauchos, but the streak was stopped at Napa in their final regular-season game when they were beaten by the Grizzlies, 59-40.

Host Napa jumped out to a 20-5 opening-quarter lead. After Casa held its own in the second period, Napa outscored its visitors 20-6 in the third quarter to clinch the victory.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.